3 ms·
This may not be 100% accurate in nomenclature, but it gets the point across. Laminar flow is uniform and very easy to model mathematically, hence the reference
by bathMarm0t 9y ago
This may not be 100% accurate in nomenclature, but it gets the point across. Laminar flow is uniform and very easy to model mathematically, hence the reference to its "clean-ness" (e.g. clean [simple yet functional] design, clean [elegant] math proofs, etc). Its opposite: turbulence. laminar:turbulent::clean:dirty. You get turbulence/wake when there's something upstream of you disturbing the flow patterns. Air has less potential energy in it once it has been disturbed (the random motion of turbulence detracts from it's ability to generate pressure differences via flow manipulation). Riding in dirty air happens when the rich man's yacht in front of you sails upwind of your own personal rich-mans-yacht. Your vessel can still sail, but will sail a little bit slower, due to there being less available energy in the wind for you to tap into. This becomes a problem w/ turbines for obvious reasons (ask yourself why they don't just put multiple turbines all on a spoke for cost-of-installation savings, or even why they always seem to choose 3-bladed turbines [a very cool/interesting mathematical optimization problem!]).
- brudgers 9y agoTurbulence isn't always energy robbing, e.g. drafting in cycling and auto racing and distance running. Though it is hard to operate a sailboat like that...for what it's worth, my friend has a Sunfish these days.
- traviscj 9y agoThe difference is which direction the energy is flowing. In sailing, you're extracting wind energy into kenetic energy. In drafting, you're expending energy from some other source to overcome the resistance of the air you're displacing to maintain your kinetic energy.